Roll roofing fastener



Feb. 12, 1935. c. J. DEXTER ROLL ROOFING FASTENER Filed Sept. 8. 1952 Carl J: Dex fer Patented Feb. 12, 1935 1,990,776

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROLL ROOFING FASTENEB Carl J. Dexter, La Fayette, Ind.

' Alinlicationseptember s, 1932, Serial No. 632,245 R E S U 2 Claims. (Cl. 108--33) This invention relates to fasteners for securing per, lapping over the other. The joint thus the edges of roll roofing, and has for an object formed is sealed and greatly strengthened by the to provide an inexpensive and eflicient device of use of a thick asphalt paint, which after hardenthis character which will facilitate the handling 8 and y produces a bond often pra i lly 5 of roll roofing such as composite strips of asas strong as the roofing material itself. This 6 phaltum and felt, while laying the same. joint is held to the roof by the use of roofing nails A further object is to provide a sheet metal which are placed at close intervals across the fastening device having clasps pre-bent at definroof. ite angles to embrace the lower edge of the roll A very common and unfortunate condition L0 roofing and exert strong continuous pressure on found to exist in such joints is hat n m u 10 the lapped'edge to provide a water-tight and a aks r. due to V ri s causes Such as, for practically air-tight joint when hammered instance, the holes formed by the roofing nails closed. becoming enlarged in time, and often the nails A further object is to provide a fastening dethemselves become loosened, and in severe cases, L5 vice in which a strip of rust-resistant metal is strips of roofing are blown from the roof.

disposed between the lapped edges of adjoining The enlargement of the nail holes is probably rolls of roofing to hold the roofing nails in such due to several causes. The pullin 0f h r fin a manner thatno nails are exposed and no nail in contracting and expanding due to temperaholes are formed in the surface through which ture changes is no doubt one cause. It is known 30 water can seep. also that because the heads of the nails are ex- A further object is to provide a fastening deposed to the sun, the heat draws the nails and vice so constructed that the blanking out of causes them to be loosened with resultant leaks. strips before they are bent into usable shape is Irrespective of the cause, it is true that ny done without the loss of any metal since the desuch nails often lose their holding ne and vices interlace with one another as cut from the may be readily lifted from position. The chang- 25 flat sheet. ing condition of wood due to varying tempera- With the above and other objects in view the 'ture and moisture over a period of years also invention consists in certain novel details of conaffects the holding power of the nails. The most struction and combinations of parts hereinafter common cause of leaks, therefore, is probably 80 fully described and claimed it being understood due to the fact that a large number of nails, that various modifications may be resorted to driven into the underlying sheathing, strike within the scope of the appended claims without knots, cracks, holes, or soft places in the wood departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of and, of course, in such condition, soon become the advantages of the invention. loosened and subsequently induce leaks.

B5 In the accompanying drawing forming part of My present invention provides a device wherethis specification, by the above outlined objectionable conditions Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved may be economically and effectively corrected. roll roofing fastening device in operative posi- The fastener comprising the subject matter of tion, the present invention consists of a strip 10 of rustl Figure 2 is a cross section taken on the line proof sheet metal (No. 26 gauge, 30" long has 40 2-2 of Figure 1, showing one of the clasps of proved to be very satisfactory) so formed-as to the fastener in initial position, provide a continuous nailing piece from the lower Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 but showedge of which projects a series of tongues or claspsing the clasps driven home to final position, 11 which, whenbent down into proper position,

15 Figure 4 is a plan view of the blank from which hold the included edge of the overlapping roofing the fasteners are struck, rigidly in place. The upper two corners of each Figure 5 is a detail view showing the strip with clasp are bent at right angles to the plane of the a P O the clasps in front l va ion. and clasp, and are bent on the bias across the cor- Figure 6 is a detail view showing the strip ners, as shown in Figure 5, to form a pair of 9 W One 0! the asps in end elevation. teeth 12 adapted to be embedded in the roofing On 1 the t in xp n v yp 0! m rn surface when the clasps are bent down to final roofing consists of widestrips, usually 36", of position. These teeth are'too short, about .0'l0 composition roofing made up largely of asphal-' long, to pass entirely through the overlapping tum and felt. Such strips are laid vertically or layer of roofing but long enough to pass well horizontally on the roof with one piece, the updown through the surface.

Each clasp 11 is sharply bent at precise angles to cause the clasp to come down on the roofing in a predetermined position, as best shown in Figures 2 and 6. Each clasp is provided with spaced sharp bends 13 and 14. The initial bend 13 is formed at the juncture of the clasp with the base strip and disposes the base portion 15 of the clasp at a predetermined angle to the plane of the strip 10 continued, preferably 70. The next bend 14 is disposed at a distance from the first bend slightly greater than the thickness of the roofing material and disposes the terminal free portion 16 of the clasp at a greater angle to the plane of the strip continued, than the base portion of the clasp, preferably Roll roofing is sometimes laid vertically on the roof but the horizontal method is shown in Figure 1, as this plane is better suited to the use of my improved fasteners. The work of roofing begins with the laying of one piece 1'? horizontally across the lower part of the roof 18 and this piece may initially be held in position by a few nails across the upper edge. Another method is to attach the strip 10 of the fastener to the lower edge of the roof and then allow the strip of roofing material to settle down against the upright clasps 11. Irrespective of the method of placing the initial strip of roofing in position, the fasteners are next placed in continuous position across the upper part of the piece 17 and set down far enough to provide a lap joint of 1 /2 to- 2 inches. The strips are then nailed in position as indicated at 19. Next the succeeding piece 20 of roofing, in-

cluding the fiat strips of the fasteners over which said sheet of roofing will lie, is heavily coated with roofing cement as is customary for such lap joints.

The second piece 20 of roofing to be laid is now slipped down against the upright clasps 11, see Figure 2, and the clasps are then firmly bent down, by the use of a hammer, to the position shown in Figure 3, to grip and permanently hold the overlapping piece of roofing in place. Ends of roofing pieces that do not pass entirely across the roof may be fastened in like manner.

In addition to holding the roof rigidly in place the use of these fasteners affords a great added convenience in handling the roofing material. Roll roofing sometimes is quite heavy, as much as 90 pounds per roll, and particularly on a steep roof, great difiiculty is experienced in holding a long strip of roofing in proper position until it is nailed and finally fastened. By the use of my improved fasteners, the roofing is unrolled and allowed to settle down in accurate location as determined by the previously nailed fastening strips. This not only greatly improves the accuracy of the work but also brings about a considerable saving in labor.

The essential advantage of my improved fastener is that the nail heads are completely covered by the overlapping roofing and thus, even if some nails are loose, leaks cannot result. Furthermore, the nail holes through the lower layer of roofing are placed above and out of line with the teeth to prevent any possible leak in case the roofing is defective or holes should develop at the points of contact of the teeth. The essential value and effectiveness of the fastener depends upon the form of the clasps imparted during manufacture and before the clasp is bent down into final position.

The dual purpose of the clasps is to grip the roofing rigidly both by contact with the surface and by the slightly embedded teeth. As above roofing in a predetermined position. It is found in practice that the proper angles to produce the best results are as follows. Angle A, Figure 6, is approximately 70 and that of B about 35, making in all, for the erected clasp, something more than a right angle. The angular bends at 13 and 14 are sharply made to induce bending at these points. The integral base portion 15 of the clasp is necessarily made somewhat wider than the roofing is thick .145 being the most preferred dimension since most roofing is .130 thick or less. Thus when the clasp is bent down by hammer, the toothed end strikes the roofing surface first and attaches itself under heavy continuous pressure. This holds the underlying roofing firmly in place and the joint, in due time, is further strengthened by the hardening of the roofing cement.

It will be seen that no nails are exposed and no nail holes are formed in the roofing surface through which water can seep. The continuous strong pressure of the series of clasps makes not only a water-tight but also a. practically airtight joint. Preferably galvanized sheet metal is used that will not break or rust at the points of bending.

By referring now to Figure 4 it will be seen that the blanking out of the fasteners before they are bent into usable shape, is done without the loss of any metal since the clasps 11 interlace with one another as cut from the fiat sheet It is known that fasteners somewhat similar in construction have hitherto been used, see Schuller Patent No. 811,445 but without the preformed bends 13 and 14. Such ordinary unbent clasps tend to bend only at the intersection with the base strip, that is, at the edge of the roofing, so that a spring action results and prevents the free end of the clasp from coming fiat down on the surface of the roofing. The sharp bends of the present invention eliminate this spring action tending to space the anchoring prongs from the base, otherwise known as subsequent separation of the anchorage from the roofing. Consequently instead of a tension or pressure at the extreme end of the clasp as exhibited by present invention the old and well known devices, by virtue of said spring action, tend to become unfastened and disengaged from the surfaceof the roofing so that the roofing is free to slip from underneath the clasp. The present structure, on the contrary, remains anchored to the roofing material after application or mounting. The very nature of asphaltum is such that sharp teeth of the old devices, have no holding power unless passed entirely through and clinched beneath the roofing, which would produce holes in the roofing, the very thing that the present device aims to prevent. The short teeth used in my device are held firmly on the surface of the roofing under great pressure induced by the straight fiat end portions of the clasps when hammered to the final position, shown in Figure 3. The diagonal positioning in opposed relation of the teeth 12'cf each clasp insures permanent positioning of the roofing material engaged thereby, because said teeth oppose shifting movement of the material in any direction in the plane of said material.

The essential principle of my invention, and the feature for which patent protection is merited and desired, is the shape of the fasteners so preformed as to bend definitely at predetermined points to grip the roofing firmly and in a; non-injurious manner, thus affording a strong, inexpensive method of fastening that is proof against leaks.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with sheet roofing material, a strip secured beneath an edge of the material, a tongue integral with and projecting laterally from said strip and enclosing the edge of the material, said tongue bent on parallel lines adjacent to and parallel with the edge of the roof- 7 ing material, the distance between the bends of said tongue being greater than the thickness of said material, and prongs at the free ,end of said tongue engaged in the outer face of the roofing material.

2. A fastener for flexible composition roofing comprising an elongated strip, a plurality of tongues formed integral with said strip and projecting in spaced relation to each other from one of the longitudinal edges thereof, each tongue bent on preformed lines parallel to each other and parallel with the adjacent edge of said strip to provide a clasp portion, that portion of the tongue between the bends comprising a base portion disposed at an obtuse angle to the plane of the strip, the free end of said tongue inclined from its line of bend so as to overlie the strip,

and prongs bent from the free corners of said tongue at angles to each other and in the direction of said strip.

CARL J. DEXTER. [L. s.] 

